Sunday March 18th
We are sad to leave Bordeaux but it had to happen sometime. We checked out of our hotel and walked over to the tram stop. A few minutes later, we were back at the train station. While we waited for our platform to be determined, we had a snack at the coffee shop, where I helped a struggling customer translate their request to the barista. So proud of myself! I can do it without Ted! Okay, now, back to speaking English and relying on Ted. :)
One cool thing about the train platform is that there's a little digital display showing you where to stand for which coach car you are in. Trés helpful! It may have been there in Paris but I didn't notice it - I was probably too stressed to notice anything. Another thing we noticed on this train ride is that people are allowed to bring their dogs and cats onboard. Cats in a carrier, of course.
When we arrived at our hotel in Biarritz, we were pleased to be offered a free upgrade with a garden & ocean view.
Our room is also very pink. ;) We spent a little time arranging tomorrow's plans with my friends Alain & Sylvie, who live in the adjoining town, Anglet. They are generously driving us to La Rhune, which is a place where you catch a train to the top of a mountain for some fabulous views.The weather went downhill. Windy and heavily raining. We hadn't had dinner yet though, and there was no restaurant in our hotel. We had to wait a bit since the dinner hour in France starts around 7pm. So, we ventured out and found a place down the street. It was like running around in a monsoon. My nicely-kept hairdo was... hmm. You can imagine.
Restaurants here are pretty much closed on Sundays so we had to take what we could get. Anyways, it was an Italian-type place. We've noticed that at restaurants, they always bring a bottle of tap water to the table. The salad is basically just leaves of some kinda type, and it always has the same dressing, no choices. I ordered a Schweppes, thinking it was ginger ale, but it was "Indian Tonic." Heh.
We reflected on the best parts of the trip so far (the Louvre, the Museé d'Orsay, and sitting outside in the square in Bordeaux), and talked about the likelihood of an Air Canada strike delaying our flight home on the 24th (any news on that?).
Monday March 19th
This morning we had breakfast at our hotel - the one meal that they do. When asking for "un peu du lait" (a little milk), the woman corrected me and said I should ask for "nuage du lait" (a cloud of milk). Cute! Then we prepared for our trip to La Rhune.
Alain & Sylvie picked us up in their little white car and we headed off towards the Pyrenees. Alain wanted to practice his English so we spent much time chatting and talking about France and politics, and we asked lots of questions about living here. Sylvie deftly navigated the narrow roads and one-way streets as we headed out of town. We drove through the beautiful Basque countryside. The green fields and red & white houses were beautiful. The Basque country is so different than everything else we've seen so far.
After about 30 minutes, we arrived at La Rhune, and we bought tickets for the next Petit Train, which was leaving in about 25 minutes. The train was a "geared Pullman car," whatever that means. Entirely mechanical and very cute. Open air, with cloth drapes you could tie together, although everyone left them open to enjoy the spectacular views. However, open air and high altitude and moving train = coooooooold. We knew it would be, but by the end of the trek, I had wrapped my scarf around my head, pulled Ted's toque on over top, and also my hat. Then the hood on my jacket, too.
The best views ended up being on the train ride up, because at the top it was all fog. Too bad, because Alain insisted that it would have been gorgeous. We only had a few minutes at the summit because it turns out our train would be the last one due to how cold it was!! The ride down wasn't nearly as cold and was exceptionally lovely.
After we left La Rhune, Alain & Sylvie drove us down the coast and we visited St. Jean de Luz, a splendid little town. We went out to the old fort by the water and took photos of the hillside and the harbour. Alain encouraged us to come back here if we have time since there is a direct bus from Biarritz.
Before parting from our new friends, they brought us to one of the viewpoints in Biarritz. On the way there, we got pulled over by traffic police for a minor infraction but to everyone's relief they let Sylvie go with a warning. Our excursion at an end, we were brought back to the hotel and said goodbye with the very French double-kiss on the cheeks. :)
Tonight we had dinner at Le Royale and I enjoyed a very good Niçoise salad-yay! No raining on us today. The forecast here seems to change by the minute and Alain says it is frequently characterized by "giboulées" but I hope the rain holds off. I didn't really bring enough clothes for cold weather though, sunny or otherwise, so I may have to do some shopping!
Cheers,
E!
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